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Traveling in Mexico: Life in Acapulco
The sea retreated as she broke the grip of the tumbling waters. Soft swells revealed an ever-lengthening expanse of smooth, mocha-colored skin. Warm rivulets of salty water ran down her from long wavy auburn hair. She had been swimming hard against the retreating tide. The breeze rustling the palm fronds she watched along the beach felt like the gentle breath of angels. ?Here?s an Agua de Pipa with ice?, I offered. ?Just what I need. I?m parched?, she quickly responded as I held out the dark brown ball that was a chilled, wet coconut. A hole had been sliced into its top to admit a long yellow straw. She sipped for a few seconds that seemed like an eternity to her salt-cracked throat, the sweetness contrasting the Pacific?s salt. Whirling abruptly, she dropped into the blue wooden lounge chair next to me, throwing a cartoon character towel across her dripping torso. Her feet buried themselves in the moist, warm sand. Shade from the blue and white canvas beach umbrella blocked the late morning Acapulco sun. Raggedly clad vendors plodded their way along the beach hawking chili-powder-sprinkled mangoes, cheese-filled roast platano slathered with sweet cream, and clear plastic bags of brightly-colored soft drinks. Straws protruded from their twist-tied tops. ?Would you like a nice, relaxing neck and back massage?? Looking up, the face of a middle-aged black woman appeared. Her sun-bleached brown and black hair in neatly-done dreadlocks. ?Only 10 pesos to do your head and neck.? Stepping behind me she began to massage my neck and shoulders briskly. The scent of perfumed coconut oil adding to the sensation. ?A full body massage is only 50 pesos?, she added. Much drier now from the sun, heat and towel, my wife chimed in, ?Go ahead and get one. I?ll treat you for Father?s Day.? Together they made me an offer I didn?t refuse. The Rasta woman spread our large cartoon character towel on the crystal sand. I prostrated myself on its moistness and in moments began to drift wonderfully away to the sensation of a thousand magic fingers on my sun-tanned skin and the aroma of perfumed coconut oil. Getting to Acapulco Getting to Acapulco is pretty simple; from Mexico City, it?s a six-hour, 230-peso bus ride from the South Terminal (Terminal Sur - metro stop: Tasqueña) on frequently-departing Grupo Estsrella Blanca buses. The ultra-deluxe buses feature one or two full-length movies, extra-wide, plush, reclining lounge chairs and a freshly made sandwich and cold beverage of your choice handed out as you board. Buses take the non-stop toll expressway directly to the coast. Second class transport lines (180 pesos, 6 ½ to 7 grueling hours) still use the old route through the mountains passing Cuernavaca, Taxco and Chilpancingo, Guerrero state?s capitol city. Getting Around Acapulco It?s ridiculously easy to traverse the city. In fact, if it got any easier, you?d have to be carried around on the wings of angels. The main thoroughfare, Costera Miguel Aleman, follows the crescent-shaped shore virtually from one end to its other several kilometers away. Blue taxis are abundant costing ten to fifteen pesos for most destinations within the city. Blue and white city buses follow ?La Costera? too and are a bargain 3 pesos. Even bus lines that venture up the rolling slopes of Acapulco?s residential districts pass briefly along ?La Costera?, mostly near the Zocalo. Green and white city buses wind their way up and over the cliffs to locales outside but near the city and set you back a whopping 5 pesos for a journey of 30 to 40 minutes. We?ll be taking a day trip to ?Pie de la Cuesta? later in this series. Be sure to check out my other articles in the two continuing series: Teaching English in Mexico and Traveling in Mexico. If you would like more information, have questions or comments, the author can be e-mailed; see address below. Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an ELT Teacher Trainer, English language learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. He has published more than 350 articles and academic papers and presented at numerous EFL teacher training and TEFL conferences throughout North America, South America and Europe. For comments, questions, requests, to receive more information or to be added to his free TESOL articles and teaching materials mailing list, e-mail: lynchlarrym@gmail.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_M._Lynch | |
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